Central station apparatus for pneumatic dispatch systems



May 7, 1929. E 1,711,511

CENTRAL STATION APPARATUS FOR PNEUMATIC DISPATCH SYSTEMS Filed Sept. 1, 1926 s Sheets-Sheet l @JKDJQ I 1 l l GUM) I i JNVENTOR. I

J, 4 Wu' bz f WW f ATTORNEY.

"Ma 7,1929. E WEI ELE 1,711,511

' CENTRAL STATION APPARATUS FOR PNEUMATIC DISPATCH SYSTEMS Filed Sept. 1, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I mi I J UM E INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY May 7, 1929. w G 7 1,711,511

CENTRAL STATION APPARATUS FOR PNEUMATIC DISPATCl-I SYSTEMS Filed Sept. 1, 1926 v 5 Sheets-Sheet '1 F 1 'INVENTOR.

BY W

. ATTORNEY,

Patented May 7, 1929.

'"UNITED STATES PATENT orrics.

EDMUND WEIG-ELR'OF .BERGENFIELD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGIIOR TOG'. & G. ATLAS- SYSTEMS, INCl, OF NEW YORK, N. CORPURATION YORK.

CENTRALSTATION APPARATUS on PNEUMATIC nrsra'rcn SYEl'IEMS.

Application filed- September 1, 1926. Serial No. 132,928.

This invention relates to a central station installation for pneumatic dispatch systems.

In Letters Patent No. 1,576,312, granted March 9, 1926, there is described and claimed a pneumatic dispatch central station installation characterized by a relatively high degree of flexibility of operation to provide for the rapid addition to or subtraction from the number of operators at the cashiers station emergency conditions in a portion of the system, such asthe occurrence of a special sale in a single department of a department.

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The invention comprises a central dispatch installation in which provision is made, as in the prior apparatus referred to, for relaying incoming carriers to a, cashiers station in the normal course of the work, and

in which provision is also made for diverting arriving carriers from any desired number of the incoming tubes directly to specially provided operators stations and without subjecting the carriers so treated to the intermediate relay dispatch operation. I

A feature of the invention resides in the provision of troughs or ways distributed at the central station to receive carriers from the incoming tubes and to deliver the 're-' ceived carriers to the relay station, the delivery ends of the incoming tubes being provided with means for diverting the arriving carriers from the troughs or ways directly to emergency operators stations provided for the purpose adjacent to the delivery ends of the tubes.

Other features of the invention will be hereinafter described'and claimed. Y

In the drawings, in which a preferred embodiment of theinvontion has been selected for illustration:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view in plan of a central dispatch installation embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a view taken in side elevation and partly in vertical section on the line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view in end elevation and in vertical section taken on the line 3-3 of Figure l; r r

Figure 4 is a view in front elevation of the parts shown in Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings for a more detailed description of the invention, a central station installation for a pneumatic dispatch system is shown in which a'co'mbined relay and dispatch ope ators stationis shown at 5, to which carriers are deliv'ered from the discharge terminals of incoming tubes 6 by way of inclined troughs or chutes 7 and 8. The various chutes converge at a carrier receiving receptacle Site which access is had by the operator at station 5. At 10 is shown a cashiers station to which carriersare relayed or redispatchedby the operators station 5 and through theagency'of carrier tubes 11 having their inlet ends 12 located at pointsadjacent to the operators station 5. The carriers thus distributed among the operators at station 10 are treated by those operators, the change being made and the record slip indicating the transaction, whereupon the carriers are returned by the operators at stationlO by way of the tube lines 13 to the carrier receiving receptacle 14 at station 5 from which carriers are redispatched' through the dispatch tubes lo to the outlying stations from which the carriers were originally dispatched. 'This construction and arrangement of apparatus follows in general the construction referred to in the prior patent.

A feature of the presentinvention is the provision for special or emergency treatment of carriers arriving from asection ordepartment of the system wherein special activity is taking place, such as a sale'in one or more departments of a store. In such a case it is desirable that the step of relaying the carriers fromthe dispatchers station 5 to the operators station 10 be done away with. This rearrangement expedites the, handling of the carriers by causing them to be returned to the outlying stations with the least possible loss of time "following their original dispatch to the central station. In

order to accomplish this important result, the banks of incoming tubes 6 at the central station shown in the drawing are so distribloo uted and arranged that carrier stations 16 may be served directly thereby. In order to bring this about, the incoming tubes 6 are provided at their discharge ends with a swiveled or pivoted carrier directing member 17 which is adapted. to be rotated the axis ot' the tube to direct carriers'either into the chutes 7 and 8 or into delivery tube sections 18 arranged to deliver carriers on tables or desks 19 for treatment by the operators at the stations 16. There thereby obtained direct delivery of the carriers from the outlying stations to the stations of: operators whose duty it is to treat the contents of the carriers. Following the necessary treatment, the carriers are redispatched by the operators at stations 16 to the dispatch s1 ation 1st by Way of tube lines 20 and 2-1.

The carriers thereby are not subjected to treatment by the relay operator nor are they sent to the regular operators station 10 but are treated directly on their reception at the central station and immediately redispatched by the operator at station 5.

It will be seen that the emergency or special treatment of carriers thus providl for is especially applicable to the handling of special sales in any one or more depmftments of a department store in that the service of making change for the departments in question is greatly accelerated, thereby avoiding delays in handling the goods and consequently adding to the number of sales possible to be madein a given time.

Following the emergency conditions referred to, the carriers can be again handled in the regular ordinary courseby merely rotating the swiveled carrier directing member 17 to its reversed position inwhich it will deliver to one or another of the troughs or chutes 7 or 8 instead of to the tables 19. The course of the carriers is then by way of the regular operators station 10, undergoing a relaying 'or redispatching step in the course of handing will be clear.

While the provision of the special operators stations 16 has been referred to as being of an emergency character, these stations, or a portion of them, may be used regularly, as desired, either to supplement the number of operators stations in use, or to relieve congestion at the relay operators station 5, or for any other purpose that the circumstances of the workmay require.

The terms and expressions which I have employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and I have no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any mechanical equivalent ot the features shown and described, or portions thereof, but recognize that various modifications are possible within the scope of the inventionclaimed.

What I claim is 1. In a central station installation for about.

in the ordii'iary course of the work, emergency opera-tors stations, means "for diverting carriers from the relay station and cansing the carriers to be delivered directly from the incoming tubes to the emergency stations, and a dispatching station to which carriers are transmitted from the operators and the emergency operators stations.

3. In a central station installation for pneumatic dispatch systems, a relay station at which carriers are received from incoming tubes, operators stations to which car riers are dispatched from the relay station in the ordinary course of the work, emergency operators" stations located adjacent to the discharged ends of the incoming tubes, and means associated with the incoming tubes for diverting carriers from the relay station and causing the carriers to be delivered directly to the adjacent emergency operators stations. 7

4. In a central station installation for pneumatic dispatch systems, a relay station, a series of incoming tubes, runways leading from the discharge ends of the tubes to the relay station, operators stations to which carriers are dispatched from the relay station in the ordinary course of the WOIk,

emergency operators stations located adjacent to the discharge ends of the incoming tubes, and means associated with the incoming tubes for diverting carriers from the runways and causing the carriers to be delivered directly to the adjacent emergency operators stations.

5. In a central station installation for pneumatic dispatch systems, a relay station, a series of incoming tubes, inclined chutes leading from the discharge ends of the tubes to the relay station, operators stations to which carriers are dispatched from the re lay station in the ordinary course of the work, emergency operators stations, delivery -tube sections leading from the discharge ends of the tubes to the emergency operators stations, and directing means associated with each incoming tuberfor causing carriers to be delivered by the tubes either to the chutes or to the emergency operators stations at the will of the attendant.

6. In a central station installation for pneumatic dispatch systems, a relay station,

' a series of incoming tubes, inclined chutes leading from the discharge ends of the tubes to the relay station, operators stations to which carriers are dispatched from the rela r station in the ordinary, course of the Work, emergency operators stations located adjacent to the discharge ends of the tubes, delivery tube sections leading from the discharge ends of the tubes to the emergency operators stations, and a carrier directing member mounted on the discharge end of each incoming tube in'a sWiveled relation thereto, said carrier directing members being capable of adjustment to cause carriers to be delivered either to thechutes leading to the relay station or to the emergency operators stations as occasion may require.

7. In a central station installation for pneumatic dispatch systems, a relay station, a series of incoming tubes, inclined chutes leading from the discharge ends of the tubes to the relay stat-ion, operators stations to which carriers are dispatched from the relay station in the ordinary course of the Work, a dispatchers station to which carriers are'returned from the operators stations for redispatch to the points of original dispatch, emergency operators stations located adjacent to the discharge ends of the tubes, delivery tube sections leading from the discharge ends of the tubes to the emergency operators stations, a carrier directing member mounted on the discharge end of each incoming tube in a swiveled relation thereto, said carrier directing members being capable of adjustment to cause carriers to be delivered either to the chutes leading to the relay station or to the emergency operators stations, and tube connections through Which carriers may be dispatched from the emergency operators stations to the dispatchers station.

8. In a central station installation for pneumatic dispatch systems, a relay station and a set of operators stations to Which carriers may be dispatched from the relay station, a set of emergency operators sta, tions, a serles of tubes arranged to dellvercarriers alternatively to the relay station or to the'emergency operators statlons Whereby the installation can be operated entirely by operators in the emergency operators stations or entirely by a relay operator and EDMUND WEIGELE.

in the first-mentioned operators 

